THOUSANDS PROTEST ACROSS THE NATION THIS WEEKEND, OUTRAGED OVER THE CAGING OF IMMIGRANT CHILDREN AND FAMILIES.

June 29, 2018

Oakland, CA—On the heels of a federal judge ordering that immigration officials stop ripping children away from their parents, and reunite all families within 30 days, the nation’s largest online Latinx group in the U.S. is calling for an end to the funding of detention centers across the nation.

“While Trump’s cruel immigration policy was dealt a significant blow with the latest federal court ruling, the dehumanizing force enabling the caging of families in detention centers—the private prison industry—still remains untouched,” said Matt Nelson, Executive Director of Presente.org. “Trump's policy of caging families remains in effect, meaning the administration will continue to imprison immigrants for attempting to enter the U.S., including people who have a legal right to seek asylum.”

“In fact, Trump is making plans to build many new detention centers to imprison more children and their parents,” continued Nelson. “We are marching in the streets this weekend not just to say enough to the caging of children and families in detention centers, but to pull the curtain and see behind what’s enabling ICE, Trump’s cruel policies, and making a killing from incarcerating immigrants—the private prison industry.”

Presente.org members join the #FamiliesBelongTogether coalition and other partner organizations including The Leadership Conference, ACLU, National Domestic Workers Alliance, MoveOn, MomsRising, ROC United, Freedom Cities, Candide Group, and others across the U.S. to protest the inhumane and cruel treatment of immigrant families.

For-profit prison corporations like GEO Group and CoreCivic, formerly the Corrections Corporation of America, rake in billions of dollars from Trump's inhumane policies. By design, private prison conditions are dangerous and inhumane. In order to maximize profits, the private prison industry cuts back on staff training and medical care, while spending millions lobbying government to keep their prisons filled by whatever means necessary. The private prison industry has grown under past administrations—and will continue to expand the cruelty they enable, unless their influence is nixed.

“The private prison industry maximizes profits by lobbying for and benefiting from laws that imprison more people, including children,” said Nelson. “We need to bring attention to the harm the private prison industry creates, deter private companies from investing, stop banks from financing, and eliminate the practice of elected officials granting contracts to this inhumane profit model. ICE should be abolished, and if you end the financial and political incentives that support the caging of immigrant families, as experts have said, the whole racket will fall on itself."